


The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep

by alexcat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Blow Job, F/M, Threats of Violence, Vacation, Vaginal Fingering, steve and natasha need a vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 22:39:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18040436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: Steve and Natasha go away, but all is not peaceful.





	The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep

**Author's Note:**

> If you find any mistakes, let me know. I kinda wanted to get this up and it may need more editing.

_The woods are lovely, dark, and deep._  
_But I have promises to keep,_  
_And miles to go before I sleep,_  
_And miles to go before I sleep._  
~ Robert Frost 

* 

 

Steve and Natasha stood back to back in the fight, and when it was done and they were back at the compound, she went to her own quarters for a shower before the debriefing. She stood under the spray for a long time. Missions were often difficult; people died. Sometimes they were friends, sometimes, enemies, but all were still people. There was once a time that this didn't matter to her. That was not true anymore. 

When she was clean, when enough grime and guilt were washed away, she turned off the water and dried herself. After she was dressed, she made her way to the conference room. Steve was there already, his own hair still damp from the shower. Before anyone else came in, she kissed his cheek.

“You all right?” he asked, concerned. 

“Yeah. Just been a long day.”

He laughed. “I've still got all this paperwork. Wanna drive into town later for a burger or something? I don't want kale tonight. I want something greasy and good.” Stark’s nutritionist tried to feed the heroes a healthy diet, but the residents often ate elsewhere. 

“You boys and your obsession with grease, but yeah, a burger does sound good. Do we get to ride your bike?”

“Oh yeah. You girls all seem to like those big ol' engines.”

She laughed. “Of course we do.”

Everyone showed up suddenly and they talked about the mission, what worked, what didn’t and how they could improve and be safer the next time out. The meeting was done rather quickly. 

Steve and Natasha left right after the meeting adjourned, putting on helmets and taking off into the night. They found a diner on the Interstate just outside the nearby town. They got a table near the back, ordering burgers, fries, and milkshakes. 

“I think I love these late night burgers runs more than anything we do,” Steve told Natasha. “They’re the only normal thing I do.” 

“Sometimes I wish I were a normal suburban mom with a couple of kids, a dull husband and two cute little kids with names like Grace and Benjamin. Oh, and a dog.” 

“You’re too gorgeous for that. All the dads would be chasing you around.”

She made a face at him. “Seriously?” 

He leaned forward in his seat. “Yes, seriously.”

She blushed at little, something no one besides Steve had ever seen her do. 

“Let’s not go back for a while,” she said when they’d finished eating and were getting back on the bike. “Let’s just ride until we’re tired and then stop and sleep somewhere.”

“You got it.” 

She laughed, surprised at his quick agreement and put her arms around him. Off they rode into the night. They stopped at dawn and got some gas and coffee. They were headed south. They had a little cash, their phones, both of their credit cards and the clothes they wore. Natasha was also armed with her knives and her gun, but that was a given with her. Being spontaneous was new to both of them. 

Natasha’s whole life had been laid out for her from the time she’d gone to the Red Room as a child. She’d had to learn a lot since Barton brought her in from the cold and turned her to the light side, as he often joked. Trust had been hard, but she trusted Barton and, finally, Steve. Doing things on the spur of the moment went against the grain, but she was trying. Maybe she’d learn love, too, someday.

They rode until the sun was high on their southward track. They were in Virginia and rode until they were in the part of the Appalachians called the Blue Ridge Mountains, so named because that’s what they look like a long blue ridge in the sky. They stopped at a barbecue place for lunch. Neither of them had ever had anything like it, and they both liked the tangy sauce that covered pulled, pit cooked pork. 

As Steve was paying, he asked the man behind the counter if he knew a good place to spend a day or two in peace and quiet. He sent them to a mountain inn that also had little cabins for rent. 

“We don’t even have soap!” Natasha looked at him like he was nuts. 

“I’ve got a credit card and back pay all the way back to 1943, Natasha. We can buy anything we need.” 

She’d just grinned and shook her head. 

Steve stored his bike at the car rental lot, while they picked up their Jeep, then they followed the GPS to the cabin. It was off the beaten path, small and cozy, and though it looked very rustic, it still had all the modern conveniences they’d need. They went to the small town down from the mountain to get several sets of clothes and stopped at Walmart for food and toiletries They were set.. 

It was getting late in the afternoon and neither of them had slept in over 24 hours. Both had done this many times, but they decided they’d eat a snack and go to bed. Even super soldiers and spies needed rest sometimes. 

“We only have one bed, so I’ll take the sofa,” Steve said, ever the gentleman.

“Nope, we sleep in the same bed,” she countered. “I’m not exactly afraid of you and I have no reputation to protect anyway. As Barton told me once, I’m a grown-ass woman.”

Steve laughed but agreed that she was right. 

It wasn’t quite dark outside when they went to bed. Natasha watched Steve sleep. He was beautiful, she thought to herself. She’d thought it the first time she saw him and nothing much had changed. He’d lost a little more of his innocence, but he still was more of an optimist than she’d ever be.

She finally slept and when she woke, it was still dark out. Strong arms held her and a warm body was pressed against hers. She let out the breath she’d held when she first realized she wasn’t alone.

Steve. 

He was so big and warm. And all male, if what was poking her hip was any indication. She smiled in the dark. The fleeting thought of waking him crossed her mind. No one could look at that body forever and not have the thought of being naked with him cross their mind, could they? She’d tried to fix him up with dates for a while, but he claimed he was too busy. She also tried to figure out if he might be gay. She couldn’t find any information anywhere about him being with anyone. 

As much time as they spent together, she realized they didn’t know a lot about one another. Steve knew of the Red Room, but she’d never told anyone all of it, not even Bruce. Steve had never talked of the war, but she knew there was a lot more than just saving Bucky. She suspected he’d seen things even she couldn’t stomach. She knew his unit was involved in chasing Nazi scientists. She’d also heard rumors that he’d been in some of the concentration camps on secret missions. 

She had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed Steve was awake. 

“You okay, Natasha?” He always said her name in a way that left the first ‘a’ out. She liked that. 

“Yeah, just the middle of the night deep thoughts. Ever have those?”

“Nearly every night. That’s what all the punching bags are for.”

She knew that the punching bags were for rage, just not who or what that anger was directed toward. 

He got up and went to the bathroom. Instead of getting back in the bed, he went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. After he drained it, he came back. 

“Now I gotta go,” she grinned at him and went herself. When she came back, he held the blankets open for her and pulled her close when she lay back down. “Whoa!” she said.

“It’s cold. Just trying to stay warm.” 

“You can turn the heat up.” 

“I’d rather snuggle. You know, it was so cold in our apartment when I was little, that I used to snuggle with my mom to stay warm. We’d put on several layers of clothes and get under the blankets and snuggle ‘til morning, when the building manager would let us turn the heat on. Years later, after she died, Bucky would snuggle with me in the cold.” 

After that story, how the hell could she say no? 

“You use that on all the girls you snuggle with?” 

“You’re the first one in a long time.” 

She looked at him and shook her head. Then she snuggled up to him and put her head on his shoulder. Both of them were asleep again in minutes. 

It was early morning when the phone started ringing. Stark, Sam, Rhodes all called Steve. Natasha could tell by how he talked to them who he spoke to. 

“Put out the fires?” she asked when he hung up. 

“I hope so. Told them we ran away and if they needed me, call and send a Quinjet for us.” 

“So what’re we going to do?” 

“I might go back to sleep. Or I might take a hike. We did get those nice hiking boots.” 

She made coffee. She seemed to drink almost as much of it as Stark did. She felt a need to stay alert, to never let down her guard, even here in this idyllic setting with Steve. 

“So do you know how to cook breakfast?” she asked. 

“I can do scrambled eggs, fry bacon. Never learned to make bread though. We got canned biscuits, I think.” He looked in the fridge. “Juice, too. Cereal, too.” 

“Were you planning on staying a month?” 

“I eat a lot. And I actually had no plans, but a month sounds good. Bacon and eggs and toast?” he asked her.

“Oh, toast! I can make that.” 

*

They went hiking later in the day. It was good they’re bought heavier coats. The early fall was warm in the lower elevations but it could get pretty cool in the mountains. 

Steve was surprised at how happy he felt here in the middle of nowhere with Natasha. He thought about her way more than he should. He didn’t expect a guy like him had much of a chance with her. He’d never seen her with anyone but Bruce and that seemed strained lately. 

That evening, they ate sandwiches and watched an old movie on tv. Natasha had insisted they buy popcorn and Steve had to admit that old movies were better with it. They spent much of the evening on the sofa, Natasha curled up against him. 

The movie was a WWII picture. For quite a while after he was thawed, he couldn’t watch even the most romanticized version of WWII drama without having nightmares. The nightmares still came, but less severe now. 

“It wasn’t like that,” he said as the end credits rolled on the movie. 

“Life is never like the movies.”

“I have nightmares about it still.” 

She looked up at him. “You could have said something. We could watch porn,’ she said, trying to lighten the mood. “Real sex isn’t like that either.” She grinned. 

“Not sure I’d be comfortable with that either.” 

“Ever talk to anyone?” 

“Like a shrink? Fury got me to talk to some of the SHIELD ones. Not sure why. They always wanted to talk touchy-feely stuff. I’m from another world. We didn’t talk about ‘feelings’” He made quotation marks with his fingers. 

“Russians don’t have feelings, or at least, we pretend we don’t.” 

“Did you talk to anyone?” 

“Not much. Probably more to Clint than anyone. He actually got it.”

Steve looked at her and laughed. “We’re a real pair, aren’t we? A hundred year old man and a Russian spy.”

“Do they seem like children to you?” she asked, serious again.

“The others? Sometimes. Hell, Wanda is a child. You’re pretty young, too, you know.” 

“I feel ancient. I’ve been working since I was a little girl.” 

“So you did ops as a kid?”

“Yes. I did. I was very young when I made my first kill. It was surprisingly easy. Strangely enough, working for the ‘good guys’ has made the job harder.” 

“Because now you feel guilty.” It wasn’t a question. 

She nodded. 

He looked out, as if seeing into the past. “It was easier for me back then. The bad guys, the Nazis were so bad that we felt righteous when we killed them. We didn’t lose sleep over it. Now, it’s different. I feel bad for the ones we have to kill sometimes. I even worry if we _are_ on the right side.

“The war was bad, Natasha. We saw the camps when no one in the west knew about them. We smuggled people out sometimes, but we couldn’t help them all. I remember the faces of the children. We raided medical facilities where they experimented on people. Sometimes we killed the victims because there was nothing else to do for them, but end their suffering.”

He stopped talking. She didn’t touch him nor did she speak for several minutes. 

Then it was time for her story. She stared out across the room as she began to speak.

“We learned to obey our masters first. I was very obedient. In fact, I was the star student. Our first kills were the failures. The failures were the ones that the KGB couldn’t beat the humanity out of. If you had one iota of humanity left in you by the time you were eight, you died before you were nine. 

“We learned killing and when we were old enough, we learned seduction, perversion and blackmail. There was no tool that the Red Room girls were not equipped to use to meet their objectives. They brainwashed us and they drugged us. To this day, I don’t where I end and my training and false memories begin. I have no idea who I actually am.”

He wanted to hold her, but he sat still and waited. She put her arms around him and began to cry. He held her until she stopped. She looked at him and smiled sadly. “We’re both fucked up messes, aren’t we?”

He nodded. 

They were both subdued the next day, neither talking very much as they hiked again. The forest was quite hilly and both of them enjoyed the challenge. The exertion somewhat dispelled the gloominess they’d felt after talking of the past. After they returned to the cabin, they decided to spar in the front yard. 

The fact that she wore spandex running pants and a sports bra distracted the hell out of him. His growing interest was not easy to hide when she kept landing on top of him. He saw in her eyes that she knew what state he was in and that she was enjoying it. 

Finally, after a long struggle on the ground, she was straddling him. 

“Surrender?” she asked.

“Do I have a choice?” 

“Kiss me.” 

“What?” 

“Kiss me and I won’t make you surrender.” 

He did, pulling her head down close so she lay on top him. The kiss was meant to be a peck. It turned into more quickly as he slipped his tongue in her welcoming mouth. He knew he made a noise when she moved her hips deliberately, grinding softly against his cock. 

His phone buzzed. Natasha rolled off of him. “Damn!”

“Rogers here,” he answered, frustration plain to see on his face.

It was Stark. He was asking again when they were coming back. “Tony, we don’t know. We’ve both earned a break, don’t you think?” 

After he hung up, she grinned. “Well, that was rude,” she laughed. “He won’t stop until we are back home, you know?”

“I do. So, what shall we do now?” Steve asked. They were sitting side by side on the ground. 

“Hmm, maybe we should hit the shower and make dinner?” 

“You sure?” he asked, a little disappointed but also a little relieved. Steve hadn’t spent this much time with a woman his entire life, not even Peggy. He was pretty sure he was in way over his head with Natasha. Maybe slowing down a little was a good idea. 

“Nope, but we can revisit this later.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.”

They got up and went inside. 

Steve’s shower was deliberately cold. He wondered how he was going to sleep with her tonight. He’d manage somehow, he supposed. He cared too much for her to fuck things up. 

They made chicken with spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner. Between them, they made a decent cook. After dinner, they watched some old sitcoms on a local station then they went to bed. 

Steve was nervous, mostly that his body would embarrass him and mess up everything. Natasha wore shorts and a tank top to bed, and he was in sweatpants. She snuggled up close to him and while he was busy worrying about everything, he fell asleep. 

He woke when the sun came in through the windows. Natasha was still curled up against him. He slipped out of the bed and went to the bathroom, then outside on the front porch. He was enjoying watching the forest come to life when she came outside. 

“Good morning, Cap.” Natasha stepped out, still in her sleeping clothes with Steve’s shirt thrown on over the tank top. He couldn’t help but stare at her. “Coffee?” 

“Please.” 

She popped back in and returned with two cups a few minutes later. She sat on the other rocking chair and sipped her coffee. “I wonder how long I could stay out here without getting tired of it.”

“I was thinking that, too. Not much chance of getting tired of it with you here,” he told her. 

“There is a little something in the air, isn’t there?” she asked with a smirk. 

“It’s your fault,” he teased. 

“Not entirely. Oh, I got a message. Stark again. Wanted you to call him. While you do that I’m going to see what we have for breakfast.”

He went inside and got his phone and rang Tony.

“What now, Stark?” 

“I need you to look at some photos. I’m sending them now. They are some more suspected HTDRA operatives who were with Rumlow. These just came in and Maria Hill thinks you can ID some of them.” 

“I’ll do it after breakfast and get back to you.” 

He went into the cabin and Natasha was cutting up strawberries they’d gotten at the grocery store. 

“I gotta do a little work for Stark after breakfast, then he can kiss my ass.” 

“Language, Cap.” She teased him as she looked up from her bowl. “I might go out and wander around in the woods while you work.” She popped a strawberry into her mouth. “Want one?” 

He leaned forward and she fed him one. He kissed her cheek and sat down over on the sofa to work. Natasha finished her food and headed out. In about half an hour, he got as selfie of her near a creek, then one of her in only her underwear in the creek, and a little later, he got one of her without her shirt at all. 

He stopped working at that point and asked her for directions to where she was. 

He found her sitting on the creek bank, tossing sticks in the water. 

“Did you finish your work?” she asked, still dressed only her panties. 

“Yeah, maybe. After those photos, I couldn’t concentrate anymore.” He sat down beside her and kissed her. She took his hand and put it on her naked breast. “What do you want, Miss Romanov?” He flicked her nipple with his thumb as he leaned over to give her a kiss. 

She touched him, rubbing him through his trousers. “Teasing you is fun, Steve. Are you worth all the anticipation?”

“I doubt it. But I do try hard.” He pushed against her hand. 

She unzipped him. “Mmm,” was all she said when she found out he’d left his underwear back at the cabin. She pushed him back onto the ground and knelt over him, taking him into her hand, then licking his entire length with the tip of her tongue. 

“Damn, Natasha,” he found himself gripping the moss on the creek bank as she sucked him into her mouth. “I – won’t – last – long – if – you – keep, oh god, Natasha!”

She paused and took a few moments to get out of her panties. Then she went to work on his. First, she tossed his shoes to the side then unbuttoned his shirt, and she finished with his belt and the button of his pants. He helped her slip them off. 

“I told myself I wouldn’t do this with you. I really value your friendship and I don’t want to lose it,” she told him as she pushed him back on the ground again. 

“I’m very loyal,” he whispered. “I carried a torch for seventy years. It’ll take more than this to run me off.”

“You’re perfect, Steve. That scares me a little.”

“I’m not. You know that.” 

She kissed him. “Stop talking now.” She moved up on top of him. 

“You are a wiggly thing.” He put his arms around her and pulled face down to his so he could kiss her again. “Will you please continue what you started?” He wanted… so badly

“If you say it. Ask me.”

“Will you suck me, please, Natasha?” He knew he’d have done anything she asked. Anything. 

She grinned at him and slid back down and off of him, kneeling over him and doing exactly what he asked for. She brought him to the edge quickly and backed off, looking up at him. 

“Please,” he urged her to continue. She did, sucking him deeply into her throat a few times then wrapping her hand around him as she moved her mouth up and down over him. His breathing hitched as the muscles in his hips and thighs tightened. He was so close. She didn’t stop, taking him over the edge this time, sucking him hard as he cried out her name, then licking him clean when he was done. 

He lay there for a moment then sat up and pulled her into his lap. He slid his hand between her legs, slipped a finger inside her as she gripped his arm hard. He circled her clitoris with his thumb and added another finger. She tightened her legs around his hand, bucking against it as he kissed her. 

“Come for me, baby,” he whispered into her ear before he kissed her again, swallowing her cries as his fingers grazed that little spot inside that heightened her pleasure every time he touched it. She was practically riding his hand. He thought he’d never seen anything more beautiful than the wild look in her eyes as her release came. She clung to him until her body stopped shuddering and her breathing finally began to slow. 

They sat by the stream for a little while, finally dressing and making their way back to the little cabin. 

*

Natasha seldom let anyone as close as she was letting Steve. It scared her how much she cared about him. She hadn’t known she was capable of such feelings. A friendship with Steve was different than her friendship with Clint. There had always been a tiny spark of something more.

Things had gone way past friendship the day they got on the bike and left. She’d told herself that it wasn’t going to happen, but she’d known better. The things she’d had to learn - how to do what is right instead of follow orders – he knew because he understood right and wrong on a level that she hadn’t. It wasn’t all that complex though. He was strong, handsome, and good. And he wanted her badly. Maybe that was really all it took to steal her heart. 

On a purely visceral level, he appealed to her as a man. His scent made her want to touch him. His touch set her on fire. He wasn’t polished or sophisticated like Stark. He was what he was, sometimes awkward and unsure, always considerate, sweet even. Everything about him made her want him. 

What was she going to do about it? 

She had no answer. 

She knew that Steve wouldn’t push or demand anything from her. She also knew he wanted her as much as she did him. She saw it in his eyes when he looked at her. It had been there a while. 

He showered when they came back to the cabin, while she sat on the deck and tossed back a couple of shots of vodka. 

Her phone buzzed. Stark. “Hello, Tony.” 

“Have you fucked my poor Captain to death yet?”

“You’re a crude bastard, Tony Stark.”

“Just to the point, Romanov. Have you ruined him?”

“He’s not Galahad, Tony. He won’t lose his power if he gets laid.”

“Are you sure?” 

“I’ll let you know.” She hung up. She didn’t have to put up Stark’s crap all the time. 

Steve was standing in the doorway. 

“Who’ll lose his power if he gets laid? Me?” 

“Stark seems to think so.”

That muscle in his jaw worked, the one he clenched when he was angry. He turned from her and started back into the cabin. She let him go. Maybe he needed to cool down a little. He and Stark were often like fire and water. She poured herself another shot. 

He came back out in a while and sat beside her. “Sorry. He annoys the hell out of me.” 

“I think he’s afraid I’ll break you.”

“I’m hard to break, harder than he is.” 

“I think he’s worried I’ll break your heart.”

Steve looked at her, that little wrinkle showing between his brows. “Will you?”

“I hope not.” 

He leaned across from the chair he sat in and kissed her cheek. “Does all this mean I get laid?”

She laughed and grabbed his head, pulling him back as he moved away and kissing his mouth. “I think you might.” She saw that fire leap in his eyes again. She felt her body responding, heat pooling inside her at the thought of him moving between her thighs, of his mouth at her breast. She stood and reached for his hand. She led him inside and to the bed. They hurriedly removed their clothing, both of them watching the other undress. 

There was little foreplay; she opened her arms and he went, sinking into her warmth with a moan. He kissed her as he moved inside her, pausing only to tell her how beautiful she was, how warm and soft she was, and finally as she came undone with him deep inside her, how he loved her. She held him close as he cried out her name seconds later, then lay still and quiet in her arms. 

She smoothed his hair and kissed his forehead. He moved off of her and pulled her close to his side. 

They slept. 

It was full dark outside when she woke up. He was awake and watching her sleep, apparently. She hoped things didn’t get weird. She was confused enough by her own feelings that she didn’t think she could deal with his, too. 

“I’m starving,” he said. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

She grinned. “Of course you are! I’m hungry myself. Let’s find something to eat.”

They’d gotten a frozen lasagna so they made that with salad and some frozen yeast rolls. Natasha lit candles and they sat close on the same side of the table. 

She worried that Steve had her feeling like a teenager in love, almost giddy with it. It had been quite a long time since she taken a man she liked to bed simply because she wanted him. She did like this one, maybe too much. 

“So tell me, since your Agent Carter, how many have there been?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, stalling by taking a sip of his wine. Then he looked at her as if making up his mind about something and she knew the answer before he said a word. 

“Oh, Steve, that long?”

He shrugged. “Not much opportunity, Natasha, and no one I wanted enough to take the time to make a relationship with. Until now. I already know you and I’ve wanted you since you kissed me on the escalator.” 

She’d known that. Though she had teased him about it then, she’d felt the same way. 

After dinner, they snuggled on the sofa and watched movies from the 30s on TCM, movies that Steve remembered watching in the theater with Bucky. 

“I think this might be my first ‘normal’ date,” Natasha told Steve as pulled a crocheted afghan over them both. 

“Mine, too. I don’t think the dates with Peggy were quite this normal, being in the middle of a war.”

“What was she like, Peggy?” 

Steve smiled a little sadly. “She was beautiful and bossy as hell. She was stronger and tougher than any of us. She had to be, being a woman at that time. She shot at me once – to test the shield, she said, but she was pissed that one of the secretaries kissed me.” 

“I might have shot you, too.” 

“You’re like her in some ways.”

“Was she your first?” 

“Yeah. She sneaked me into her tent one night. She said I was a damned fool and was going to get killed and she wasn’t letting me die a virgin.”

“Not very romantic sounding.”

“No, but it was.”

He hugged her close and said nothing for a bit. 

“You miss her still?” 

“Yeah. I do.”

They fell asleep on the sofa. It was the middle of the night when she woke. Steve was carrying her to the bed. She remembered thanking him and the next thing she knew, she smelled coffee. 

She smiled at him as she dragged herself into the kitchen. 

“A hero who makes coffee? What more could a girl want?” He handed her a cup. She wrapped her hands around the warm cup and smelled the coffee. He turned back to the stove and she admired his ass in the jeans he wore. 

They were quite a pair, though she’d never say so to him. Both of them had been transformed into weapons, him by a man who meant well, her by a system that did not. They were lucky that they were as human as they were. Today, she felt very human. 

They ate oatmeal with fruit. 

“Do you actually _like_ oatmeal?” she asked, frowning at the gloppy, white gruel. 

“It’s good for you.” 

“You’re a mom, Steve Rogers!” 

He grinned. “You didn’t say that yesterday.” 

After breakfast, Natasha decided to go for a hike. Steve had gotten _another_ call from Stark with more work. 

She went to the creek again. She sat on the bank and heard voices not far away. She decided to see what they were up to. She had three of her knives on her, but her gun was back at the cabin with Steve. 

She got up and crept toward the sound, being careful not to step on any branches or make any sound as she moved. 

“Darrell, I told you I heard someone,” a woman’s voice said. 

“There ain’t nobody out here this time of the year.”

“I saw a car up at the cabin, the one that belongs to that professor at the college.” 

“City people won’t ever notice us, Dakota. It’s like we’re invisible.”

“I keep telling Robert that you’re stupid as shit.” 

“Watch your mouth, woman.” 

She could see them. They were at what she could only surmise was some sort of still. She remembered that the mountains of Virginia had a long tradition of making illegal moonshine. They were probably armed, too. She might be better off if she just went back to the cabin. 

She turned. 

“Where are _you_ goin’, girl?” Apparently this was Robert. It was a little embarrassing that he’d sneaked up on her.

The business end of an old double barrel shot gun was pressed against her stomach. 

“I was going back to my cabin. I didn’t know anyone else was in the woods. I’m down here from New York and decided to go for a hike.” She poured on the dumb city girl act. 

“You need to mind your business out here in these woods, girl.” He was about her age, big and mean looking with greasy black hair and beady eyes that looked at her like he was going to eat her alive. 

“I’m sorry. I still don’t know why you’re upset.”

“These here’s our woods and we don’t like strangers, specially ones from up North.”

No, they weren’t his woods either. The property belonged to the man who owned the cabin, evidently a professor. She’d make a recommendation to the realtor that the owner clean the vermin out from his woods before she and Steve went home. 

“Move. That way.” He pointed with his shotgun toward where his friends, who were actually out of sight, guarded the still. She obeyed. It might not be a good idea to slit his throat quite yet. She’d prefer to get out of this without anyone knowing who or what she was. 

She did as she was told and they arrived at the still in a few moments. 

“Damn, Robert. What you got there?” Darrell asked, his eyes raking her body with interest.

“Found us a little Yankee spy. She’s right purty, too,” Robert told them as he pushed at Natasha with the gun, forcing her to move closer to his companions. “She’s staying in the cabin, she says.”

“Why don’t we take her up there and see it?” Darrell said. “I ain’t never been in it.”

The woman with them was small and sullen looking. She would have been quite beautiful if she hadn’t looked so sour. Natasha thought she was probably more dangerous than either of the buffoons who were with her. She also figured that the woman called the shots. 

“Somebody has to stay here with the still,” Dakota said. 

“Can’t you do it?” Darrell asked, practically drooling at the thought of taking Natasha to the cabin. 

She just looked at him like he was a complete idiot. 

“You gonna let Robert play with her and not me?” Darrell was treading on dangerous ground with Dakota and he was too stupid to see it. 

“I’ll do whatever I please, you moron. You work for me. This is MY still and my operation. You and Robert both do as I say.”

Robert leered at Natasha. She did kind of wish she’d bothered with underwear and a bra this morning. At least she did have on her boots and her knives were in them, except the third knife strapped to her hip. She knew that she might get out of this easier if she played up to Robert. He’d be easy to kill distracted by his dick, but somehow the idea was more disgusting than usual to her. 

“You like men or are you one of them fancy lesbians from the city?” Robert asked her. 

Robert’s eyes were glued to her breasts. 

“I like men fine. Know any?” There went the idea of playing up to him. 

He hit her, knocking her down. Well, she sort of fell down on purpose. 

“Get up,” Dakota said to her. “Robert found you. He gets to play with you. I’m gonna watch and, Darrell, you stayin’ here.” She nodded for Robert to head to the cabin. 

Darrell was pissed but he was afraid of Dakota and would do as she said. 

* 

She should be back by now, Steve thought as he stood and stretched, tired of Tony’s damned make work jobs. Tony was angry that he’d had taken off without asking anyone and meant to make sure he knew it. Passive aggressive asshole, Steve thought. 

He stepped outside and thought he heard someone. It must be Natasha coming back. 

But she didn’t. 

Then he saw them, a man with a gun and a blond woman, and they had Natasha. They hadn’t seen him yet. He carefully slipped back into the house and retrieved Natasha’s pistol. He moved to where he could hear them as they came up onto the porch. 

Robert told Dakota, “You stand guard.” 

Dakota laughed. “I ain’t staying out here. I’m gonna watch and maybe play some myself.” 

They were going to die if they hurt her.

“Strip, girl,” Robert said. 

Steve peeped. Natasha pulled off her shirt and tossed it aside. He was pretty sure she had that little knife she carried, either in her pants or strapped to her hip. 

Robert made to touch her and Dakota put her hand out. “Stop!” She turned to Natasha. “Get out of the rest of them clothes.”

Natasha began to unbutton her shorts as Steve turned the safety off. It made a tiny click sound that he saw Natasha heard, but the moonshiners didn’t seem to notice. They were both too focused on Natasha’s naked chest. 

He stepped behind Robert as quick as lightning. The serum was helpful that way. He put the gun against his head. 

“Put it down. Or I’ll blow your head off, boy,” he said quietly.

Dakota laughed. “Big city boy there, Robert. Looks like we got us a party.” She moved to take something from her coat and Natasha was on her before she got her hand all the way into the pocket, knife at her throat.

“Don’t even breathe, bitch,” she growled at Dakota. 

Robert squatted and put the shotgun on the floor. He turned and looked at Steve. Steve smiled at him. “Pick her shirt up.” 

Robert obeyed. 

Steve bent down and picked up the shotgun. He handed the pistol to Natasha and reached inside Dakota’s coat and removed her pistol. He grabbed the shirt from Robert and handed it quickly to Natasha. She didn’t bother to put it on yet. 

“Where did you find this trash?” he ask without taking his eyes off of them.

“It found me. They seemed to think I was gonna fuck them.” She looked at Robert and said, “Do you really think I’d rather have you than him?” She nodded toward Steve. “And his dick matches the rest of him.” 

Robert strained toward her at her words. “She’ll slit your throat if you don’t behave, Robert,” Steve said. 

She put her shirt on while Steve watched their prisoners. 

“I’ll call the sheriff,” Steve said. 

“He’s Dakota’s cousin. He ain’t gonna help you.” Robert laughed hard. Dakota glared at him. 

Steve shrugged and swiped a number. “Agent Hill, can you send an ATF team here? We got some moonshiners who tried to hurt us. Use the chip in this phone to track us. The still is about half a mile from here. There’s,” he turned to Natasha and she held up one finger, “one guy there. Half an hour? Okay. We’re good here until they arrive.” 

He put his phone in his pocket and smiled at Dakota. 

While he held them at gunpoint, Natasha found some rope and zip ties in the house. She tied them up. 

“I’m going to get a bottle of water. Watch for Darrell. He’ll probably show up armed,” Natasha said to Steve as she went into the house. 

He looked at the two prisoners. “If he shoots at me, I’ll just shoot one of you.”

Natasha came back out and handed Steve a water bottle, too. 

They sat on the chairs, watching their prisoners until a group of ATF agents showed up in a black SUV. They piled out of the vehicle on the ready, guns drawn. One of them came up onto the porch. 

“You Agent Rogers?” one of them asked. “I’m Agent Morten.” 

Steve said, “Captain Rogers, actually. There is one more at large. He was last seen out near the still. We called you because Robert here told us the sheriff was this one’s cousin. My colleague, Agent Romanov and I, were out here on vacation when these two took Agent Romanov hostage when she was out hiking.” 

Morten’s eyes went wide. He knew who they were, Captain America and the Black Widow! He and his men shuffled the moonshiners into the van. Morten was still staring wide-eyed as they got into the van and drove to the location of the still. He sent several of the agents into the woods to find Darrell, which they did in short order. They were all gone in less than an hour.

“You okay?” Steve pulled Natasha into his arms and hugged her close. 

“I am. They were lucky. I was going to kill all three of them and burn them with their still.” He knew she meant it. 

“Were you scared?”

“More pissed. I didn’t want to have to fuck that pig just to stay alive. Yuck.”

“Want to drive out to a town and find some civilization?” he asked as they walked into the cabin. 

“No. What I want is to take a long, hot shower, preferably with you, then get out and fuck you until the stench of them is gone from my nose.” 

He lifted her up until her feet didn’t touch the floor and kissed her. “I’m ready when you are.” 

*

Everyone stared when they rolled back into Avengers Headquarters on Steve’s bike. Tony was there and came down to the lawn to greet them. He knew from the moment he saw them. He’d been aggravating Steve on the phone when he hinted he knew they were lovers already. 

“Decided to join the team again?” he asked. 

“Join hell,” Steve said. “Didn’t you call every ten minutes to make sure you knew what I was up to?” 

“Apparently not successfully,” Tony said. 

Natasha actually blushed when he looked at her. 

Life went on. They fought monsters, aliens and criminals. Natasha still had her own quarters in the complex, but she slipped out nearly every night and spent the night in Steve’s bed. They spent every day as if nothing happened at all and most nights making love and talking long into the night. 

No one was fooled in the least.


End file.
